Your Tax Question - 075

Dear John, I am considering starting a small business - what do you think?  Seriously, James
---
Hi James, 


That is seriously a vague question.  While there is a thousand ways to go with that I will just say that I heartily approve.  The way that you set up your business needs to be considered because it will determine what rules you will have to follow while doing business and filing your taxes.  The more complicated the business the more you will need to follow the advice of an accountant, CPA, and or attorney.  Other than that, there is a lot of consideration so get ready to roll your sleeves up and have fun.


Best of luck,
John   

PS.  Please send me an email if you want to buy an hour or two of consultation. 

Your Tax Question – 056

Dear John, I had a business trip to L.A. and while I was there I visited some friends and even did some sightseeing. My accountant told me that because I did these things that the trip is not deductible as a business expense. I don't really buy his answer, what do you think? Thanks, Pocko
---
Hi Pocko,

Well, I am going to guess that you have had a misunderstanding with your accountant or I don’t have all the facts. From what you have told me I would say that yes, the business portion of your trip is expendable. Here’s how it works.

First, what was the primary purpose of the trip – business or personal? If business then you may move ahead , if personal then you are out of luck.

Was the business purpose of the trip more or less than 50%? If more than 50% then you are allowed to expense but your personal lodging, meals, and incidentals are not allowed, if less than 50% then you do not have a business expense at all.

So let’s say, for instance, you had 2 days business & 1 day personal (66% business, 33% personal). Your flight to LAX is fully expensed but your lodging, meals, and incidental costs must be reduced by the personal amount (33%). Then, your meals have to be reduced by 50% as only 50% of business meals are allowed to be claimed by the IRS.

You see, I expect that there is a communication break-down between you and your accountant because I don’t know of any real accountant that does not know how to properly expense business items. However, should your accountant be someone who should have retired 35 years ago and you find yourself in need of a new accountant – please don’t hesitate to call on me.

Thanks,
John

You Tax Question - 019

Dear John, This year is going to be a very interesting tax return year. I started the year being self-employed, in the middle I had a part-time job and the last half I was hired as an independent contractor (paid on commission). Is there anyway I could do my return without an accountant? Thanks, Colleen
---
Hi Colleen,

There are three sources of Income: Two of these sources will be directly addressed by your Net Profit (from your self-employment and independent contracting) on your Schedule C and then the wages (W-2) from your part-time job will be addressed on your 1040. The W-2 & Schedule C are pretty common & straight forward.

So yes, I am sure that you can do this without an accountant. (But in my biased opinion you should hire a tax professional - wink wink).

Hope this helps,
John

PS. Did you know that tax preparation expenses are deductible? Business tax prep fees are not deductible but directly reduce the Net Income on your schedule C. If you need help with this I still have room on my client list. ;-) Email me